Unkind
by ProjectAnnihilation
Summary: 'I've never been particularly known for being kind, but it was still difficult to treat these initiates harshly, knowing that last year, I was in the same position. But still, this is Dauntless, where only the strong can thrive. Right now, what they need is not kindness, but to survive though initiation.' Divergent without war AU.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Firstly, hello and thank you for reading my story. The concept is done to the death, a divergent AU where there is no war. But I tried to stay as true to Veronica Roth's depiction of the characters as possible including their choices/reactions and hope that you'll find it an enjoyable read :)**

**Divergent and all characters are copyright Veronica Roth.**

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I awake to a pounding on my door. Somebody unlocks it and swings it open then enters my room, their footsteps echoing on my floor.

I act, not to remove myself from the situation, but to simply flop over on my belly with my face buried deep into my pillow. I grip the edges of it and tug them over my head in order to continue sleeping.

"From instructor to babysitter." Tobias' voice sounds muffled through the pillow and I feel his fingers brush against my shoulder. "Hey Tris, wake up!"

I groan and roll over to the side, stubbornly refusing to open my eyes. "Extra key privileges can be revoked." I warned him sleepily.

I listen to him chuckle and his fingers run over my hair lazily. "I know you're tired but I'm just here to tell you, we have to be in the pit soon."

With that my eyes snap open. "What?" I silently mouth and glanced at my watch. He was right, it was already past 10 AM; we were supposed to gather down at the pit in 10 minutes. I had way overslept past the alarm I had set on my watch.

"Crap." I said but was interrupted halfway by a huge yawn. I grabbed a fold of fabric from Tobias' black shirt and pulled him towards me, giving him a quick peck on the lips. "I'm going to be late." I said breathlessly, getting up from bed and half walking, half jogging to the bathroom.

I quickly wash my face and brush my teeth, when I step out of the bathroom Tobias holds out a set of black clothes towards me. I grab them without even thinking and go back into the bathroom to change.

"Another late night?" He asks me on the other side of the door.

"Yeah." I groan, pulling the shirt over my head, it has short sleeves and falls over one of my shoulders, exposing my tattoos. "They've been working me to the bone, I think I'm going to lose it."

I can almost imagine his smirk. "Well this was what you wanted."

"Yeah I'm starting to seriously reconsider my life choices." I retorted, putting on a pair of tight black pants.

I've begun to run a comb through my hair before deciding that it looked better this way, I look more intimidating; more… dauntless.

While before I used to have long hair that went down my back, now its cut short to chin length and I usually sweep it to one side. It's a warrior's hairstyle, not a little girl's, Tobias says it suits me. The idea to cut my hair came from Christina, of all people. Girly, make-up loving Christina. She had a point, of course. I'm a dauntless leader in training now, I have to look the part. I nod at my reflection in the mirror and apply a bit of makeup like how Christina taught me to. Speaking of Christina, I haven't seen her in a while. Since she and Will didn't make it to the top 5 after initiation, they didn't really had much choice in jobs and went on to guard the gate. At least they're together; besides, Christina assures me that it's really not that bad. Nowadays, I'm inclined to believe her.

I glance up at my reflection one last time, blinking the last remnants of sleep away. I've mostly adapted to life in dauntless, but some things; like looking at my reflection, still feel self-indulgent. I can't help it, abnegation is just as big a part of me as dauntless is.

It's become easier to accept myself now, selflessness, bravery, knowledge, these are all important parts of who I am. Denying it won't do any good.

I am… divergent.


	2. Chapter 2

I fling open my bathroom door and realized that Tobias had been waiting for me all along. "We're going to be late!" I exclaimed throwing on my shoes. He grabs my arm as I make for the door and instead pulls me to his chest. "You look good today." He whispers in my ear and his breath makes my spine tingle. Lifting my chin up, he gives me a deep kiss, his mouth tastes like toothpaste. I kiss back and savour the touch of his warm hand on the small of my back before I return to my senses.

"Tobias we have to go." I pull away and lick my lips. Grabbing his wrist, I pull him out of my apartment.

Being a dauntless leader in training, I was given a pretty nice apartment, it has a kitchen and everything. Not that it makes a difference, all I do in here is sleep.

"Well if you had not overslept in the first place, we wouldn't be in this situation." Tobias snickers.

"Shut up." I moan.

As we make our way down to the pit, I notice how the dauntless compounds seems quieter than usual. Normally there are more people, shouting, running around and doing death defying stunts. Today it seems… almost peaceful.

My thoughts are interrupted by a piercing scream followed by robust laughter. I sigh, I stand corrected.

As today is choosing day for the new batch of 16 year olds, a lot of dauntless members have gone to see the choosing ceremony, conducted this year by the Amity. As crazy as they might be, the dauntless stick together like family, I guess it's one of the things I like about being here.

Today brings back a lot of memories, I remember standing in the hub, feeling so nervous I could barely even stand straight. Watching my brother, Caleb make the switch to Erudite and feeling torn between choosing my family or my freedom. Thinking back, I do not regret my decision, although there are things about abnegation and my family that I miss dearly. But as they say, faction before blood, it will do not good to reminisce about my previous life. I bite my lip as though it can stop my thoughts from flowing out.

"Are you alright?" Tobias asks me, noticing the introspective look on my face.

"Yeah…" Tobias does not look satisfied by my simple explanation, so I elaborate. "I remember being in their position, just last year. Though it feels like forever ago."

I look at Tobias and he is smiling. "I remember my choosing ceremony too." He says

I doubt it is something Tobias will ever forget, the day he escapes his abusive father Marcus forever. The day he is free to live out his own life, although the scars from his childhood, both physical and psychological, will never leave him.

"Today is the day where some of them will make a choice that might change their life, forever." I give Tobias' palm a small squeeze, he doesn't reply, but he leans in and kisses me on the forehead.

I'm glad I made this choice.

Tobias and I are the last ones to arrive at the meeting, which mostly consists of dauntless leaders and several members who have volunteered to train the new batch of initiates. I give his hand one last squeeze before leaving to join the dauntless leaders standing in the front.

"You lovebirds are late." Eric says softly, standing beside me. I point my eyes straight ahead, ignoring him. Even the most innocuous remark from Eric can get my blood boiling. I know I am not forgiving, because I cannot forget how he nearly made Christina fall to her death by hanging over the chasm, or how he made Tobias throw knives at my head. These feelings seem even more pronounced now that initiation has come around again.

I scan the small crowd of volunteers with my eyes, already knowing most of the faces I see. I spot two of my friends, Christina and Uriah standing among them, and give them a small smile.

One of the dauntless leaders steps forward and clears his throat "As you all know the new initiates will be here very soon, and all of you are here because you've volunteered to train them."

Just leave it to the dauntless to wait until the absolute last minute to organize themselves. I lower my head with my hands clasped behind my back, listening intently.

"Christina and Uriah will take charge of the dauntless-born, Four and Tris will be responsible for the transfers."

I nodded and felt the corners of my lips turn upwards, of course I wanted to work with Tobias; this was no coincidence. Just because I am the lowest ranked dauntless leader doesn't mean I couldn't pull a few strings here and there.

Beside me I feel Eric stiffen, no doubt he must be fuming right now at not having been picked to lead the initiates. I let out a breath I didn't knew I had been holding in and thanked my lucky stars. Of course, nothing was stopping him from coming in and interfering with the training anyway, but well, you can't have everything.

The dauntless leader continues talking, he details the 3 stages of initiation and what should be learned at each stage, as well as how to measure the rankings. It is all boring stuff and I found myself stifling another yawn. The dauntless aren't exactly known for being the most innovative faction around, so the initiation process is the same as it's ever been.

By the time he finishes, 15 minutes have passed. The dauntless leader dismisses us and the meeting ends as abruptly as it had begun.

Eric shoots me a death glare as he storms off, I supress the smug smile that has started to creep upon my face. I despise him so much that any little victory fills me with glee, although I should know better than to make enemies among the dauntless leaders. I suppose this is why I've never gotten an affinity for amity.


End file.
